Bears notes: Safety Chris Harris asks for trade

CHICAGO — Chris Harris and his agent requested the Bears trade the veteran safety on Monday morning, just a few hours after he was placed on the inactive list for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

Jay Taft

CHICAGO — Chris Harris and his agent requested the Bears trade the veteran safety on Monday morning, just a few hours after he was placed on the inactive list for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

Harris, in his second stint with the Bears, was called a leader on the defense throughout training camp. After missing three games because of a hamstring injury, however, he was burned for two big plays in a Week 5 loss to the Lions and was then benched. Lovie Smith and the Bears coaching staff then made the decision to make him inactive Sunday night, a move that most likely led to the trade request.

“For us — I, as a head football coach — I felt like I knew what Chris was. We wanted to get a chance to see what some of our other players could do. No more than that,” Smith said Monday. “Your play is based on production when you’re out there. … I feel pretty comfortable with the decision I made.”

The Bears went on to defeat the Vikings 39-10. Harris is not expected to gain a lot of attention on the trade market, and the NFL’s trade deadline is today.

Hester’s injury minor

Star return man Devin Hester should be OK after leaving Sunday’s win over Minnesota with a chest injury.

Smith said Monday the injury “shouldn’t be serious” and that it belongs more on the “bumps and bruises” list.

Cutler mouths off to Martz

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler appeared to have some unkind words for offensive coordinator Mike Martz during Sunday’s game. He was caught on camera shaking his head after taking a play call through his headset at one point during the game, and moments later a sideline microphone seemed to catch him saying something about his second-year coordinator.

Smith downplayed the incident Monday, saying, “You have to be careful about those cameras.”

Cutler has taken a big beating the past two years in Martz’s system, though they have mostly praised each other in public. The Bears also have had to burn timeouts because they’ve had trouble relaying play calls from Martz in the booth to Cutler in time.

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.